Eric Lauer was one of the unsung heroes for the 2025 Blue Jays, contributing in several roles. Eligible for arbitration for 2026, it remains to be seen what kind of role he will settle into next season.

If the Blue Jays had found a way to win the World Series – or at least the 18-inning game three – Eric Lauer’s epic relief appearance would be a performance talked about for years to come. He fired 4 2/3 innings of scoreless ball, striking out two while working around a trio of intentional walks. For a player who excelled as a starter and bulk reliever in 2025, there may not have been a player more suited for such a game on the Blue Jays staff.

Since debuting with the San Diego Padres in 2018, Lauer has had some up and down seasons, with his best coming in 2021 with the Milwaukee Brewers (24 games, 3.19 ERA). Up until this past season, the 6-foot-3 lefty had pitched almost exclusively as a starter. Things unravelled with the Brewers in 2023, leading to a demotion to Triple-A.

The 2024 season was a strange one for Lauer, struggling with Indianapolis (PIT) and Sugar Land (HOU) before being released by both organizations. He then ended the season with the Kia Tigers in the KBO, producing an underwhelming 4.93 ERA across seven starts.

This past year was truly a magical season for Lauer, rediscovering his form from earlier in his career. It’s probably fair to say that nobody expected him to be much more than a depth starter, beginning the year at Triple-A Buffalo before his call-up at the end of April (he was also the Bisons’ Opening Day starter).

The final numbers speak for themselves: a 9-2 record across 28 games (15 starts), with a 3.18 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, and 102 strikeouts across 104.2 innings pitched. His fastball was particularly effective (89th percentile run value), despite its below-average 91.7 mph average. The 2.24 BB/9 was the best mark of his career, making a habit of going right at hitters.

The epic performance against the Dodgers was part of a great overall postseason showing. He allowed three earned runs in his first game against the Yankees, but then fired 8 1/3 scoreless innings thereafter, including 5 2/3 IP in the World Series.

With Shane Bieber opting into his deal for 2026, the Blue Jays’ rotation is in a great spot right now. With the first four spots (Bieber, Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage, and Jose Berrios) locked up, the team is in a position to be aggressive with filling the last spot in their rotation.

A player like Brandon Woodruff, whom we discussed as a potential free agent target earlier this week, would be a high upside pitcher that also brings some durability concerns. Another guy along the same lines could be Max Scherzer, who certainly proved that he is capable of providing valuable playoff innings during the postseason run. The depth that Lauer provides may allow the Blue Jays to feel confident going after one of those guys who carry injury risk.

In a perfect world, Lauer falls into a long relief role that he held during his time in the bullpen in 2025.

His World Series outing against the Dodgers showed that he can be a guy who can provide quality bulk innings when a game gets out of hand, or if it gets to extra innings. If Lauer started the season in the Jays’ rotation, it would probably mean that the club missed out on several different starting options. Although this wouldn’t be an ideal development for a team vying to get back to the World Series, it also wouldn’t be the end of the world.